Squeezing the world into a photograph...

One of the satisfying parts of being home is having both the tools and the time to work on the enormous scenic vistas I saw around Moab.

I'm learning what kind of scenes work well, and which fight me all the way. This one is a natural. I'm in the middle of the Needles portion of Canyonland National Park, looking up at the Anticline and Needles Overlooks  Be sure to click on it to get the larger version. The second image is the view from up on the Needles Overlook

So, we know that those monster wide shots work when you stick 27 pictures together to make one.

However--there are other scenes that tend to show distortion when you do a lot of stitching.:

Little bit of curvature there, eh? Might still be usable, but I have to be careful.

If we are working on the printed page, we may have to stuff everything into one or more still pictures.  However, on the web we may be able to simply go to the video. This one is of the first big river bend leaving Moab on the 128. Here's the still:

And here is the scene on video.

Which means that different techniques have their place. However, when I can get a panorama to work, it is a thrill.

Home is where the tools are...

Now that I'm home, I have my big computer, 16-bit color and plenty of memory to process huge panoramas. I shot a lot of them, so there is fun ahead!
This is a 27-picture panorama of The Wedge:

This one is along the Colorado River East of Moab, Utah. Look how deeply the river has carved the sandstone!

And below is a quick look at the San Rafael Swell, a gigantic barrier of stone you encounter when driving West on the I-70 out of Moab. It takes ten minutes at highway speed just to get up the hill to this point:

Stay tuned--there are a lot of Top-of-the-World scenes to come!

Home in one piece. I think.

Delighted to be home, though the drive across Utah today was spectacular. The weather broke at a crucial moment, and I got some good shots I haven't processed yet.

For a treat, though, how about some flying lawnmower videos? This was the one morning when the Sun really came out, and there were lawnmowers everywhere!

That fabulous scene may have you wondering--but what the heck do you do after two or three hours when you want to land? It turns out that gusty winds really blow these things around, and landing them is an art.

The experienced pilots make it look easy, but after watching some students make several unsuccessful attempts, I have a great respect for these men.

60 Gigabytes of data to process, but I look forward to every one!

Playing Texas Dodgem with the Cloud gods...

I awakened this morning to--surprise!-clouds. Looking for any break in the overcast, I went out to Gold Bar on the Potash Road. Took some videos of the flying lawnmower drivers. They were in from Salt Lake City, and left after a quick flight. They call what they do Powered Parachuting or Flying Gocarts. Whatever.
That image of the river bend at Gold Bar above is taken from the trail I hiked to Corona Arch. It is a mile and a half hike to reach the arch formation, and there is a 440 foot climb--each way.  Just kidding. I think.

As we approach the formation we see a Halo Arch in that big hole, and the huge Corona Arch over to the right:

The Halo Arch is a horizontal opening to the sky:

Then you walk through the Corona Arch to shoot the Sun side. Note how tiny the people look.:

Then I saw what looked like blue sky out route 128 to the East. So, I took off to take some pictures of the colossal canyons cut by the relentless Colorado. This is near Big Bend::

This shot above is from just a mile further East from Big Bend. A couple of miles past that there is a turn where we see the enormous Butte known as The Castle near Castle Valley. That is it, directly behind the river.

If you look back through the last few posts, you see that despite the weather's effect, Moab is one of the most scenic places in the country.

Since the weather looks bad tomorrow as well, I'm expecting to drive home. Another adventure!

Sigh. Take what the mountain gives you...

The weather was pretty horrible yesterday, but this morning there were beginning to be patches of blue sky.

I headed for one out the Potash Road--and look what I found! Flying lawnmowers!

did you catch the TWO in the air behind the one taking off? It wasn't a bad spot for flying:

As it got clearer, I went to the Eastern leg of the Colorado on Rt. 128. How do you make a Grand canyon? With a BIG river It was raining again, of course. I left the shadow thrown by the umbrella in the shot, just for fun....

When I got my courage up, I drove up into the Manti-LaSals.

Oh--did I mention the snow? Up here it was all snow and slush--and nobody to rescue you if you got stuck. Still, it gives you a remarkable view.

Brrrrrr!  And me in shorts!

All worth it, though. the sky cleared just enough to see the summit:

Oh--did I mention the bear cub playing in the road? It scrambled away when it saw me come around a corner, and scampered up an embankment into the trees.
There is a high overlook above the valley where I took all those yellow birches and aspens in the rain yesterday. That is the road down there. The deep grove to the right is the birches, and the yellow trees in the center are the ones dropping all their leaves on the road. What a view! Even the snow on the summit peeks through!

All in all, a wonderful day. The Cloud God kept throwing big wet ones my way, but I dodged and weaved as best I could.

Singin' in the Rain...

This is the kind of day that requires invoking my idol Winston Churchill: Never give in....Never give in...Never give in...

I can't remember the last time I had to shoot pictures from under an umbrella. The subject matter has to be pretty interesting. 

This is a magic week, despite the rain. the aspens and birches are in full Fall change. These are East of Moab near the Dewey Bridge. Notice in several of these pictures that some leaves are still green, while others have begun their color change cycle.
This next image is from the same spot, but turning to look across the river:

Since the leaves as shwn here are early in their cycle, I'm going to pull a Churchill and stay here 'til the Sun comes out. After all, how many times do you see this?

 Of course, this is a game the trees don't win. In the end, those lovely leaves will lie everywhere:

And don't think there aren't other colors!

The trees are changing everywhere, not just in the Manti-LaSal mountains. This is the small town of Castle Valley. Makes one understand why the Mormons ended their westward trek in Utah. Even the low clouds and rain can't diminish the beauty of this valley.

  So--like Churchill, I shall persevere here in Moab until the Sun lights all of this scenery.

It was a tough game, Mom, but we lost...

Think of me as General George Custer. I'm standing here with the bodies of my guardian angels all around, and the hostiles are closing in.

There was brief sunshine this morning

However--it was a delusion and a snare. The blue sky began to fill in with white: I quickly drove over to Potash to drive the deep valley before the clouds got there.

What I really wanted was to drive the Manti-La Sal Mountain drive, whose peaks rise 12,000 feet above the desert ten miles South of Moab.
Unfortunately, I met the Rain God up there. I would have killed for sunshine, as you will see:

The birch trees were in full color, as some began dropping their leaves.

Despite the heavy cloud cover, there was color everywhere.

Sun! Sun! My kingdom for a Sun!...

 The forecast is for two days of rain! I may never see this scene with a clear sky!

General Custer, signing off...

Propitiating the rain gods...

So far, the guardian Angels are ahead, 2-0. I'm not bragging, I know better,

Geri Murphy called to tell me it was pouring in Vegas this evening. Please--keep it there; they can have my share.

I was up on top of these immense overlooks this morning:

The views were so wide that it will take a half-dozen pictures stitched together to express it. This is just a small segment from the point known as the Anticline Overlook until I get home and do my panoramas:

Here's another small sample from the point known as the Needles Overlook. In the far distance is The Island in the sky portion of Canyonlands National Park--I shot some satisfying images from those cliffs two years ago.

The Fall foliage is still a riot of color wherever there is water nearby:

Another amazing feature of this entire part of Utah is arches made of sandstone chipped and cracked by freezing and thawing water.Arches National Park is just north of town.

So--when you are near Moab, arches seem to be everywhere!
  This is Wilson's arch:

And on the way back to town, I saw a little side road and followed it to the Hole in the glass:

Forecast for tomorrow is--rain. Sigh...

Day 1 in Moab, Utah...

The weather forecast when I left home was ugly, and when I came up into the mountains of Utah it was into thick clouds. Uh-oh.
Fortunately, by the time I hit the road to leads to the wedge, also known as Utah's Grand Canyon, the Sun came out.
It isn't as big or colorful as the Grand Canyon, but it is huge in its own right. The panoramas and videos I'll process when I get home may do it justice.

 A bonus is the Fall foliage. the yellow in the first picture above isn't shrubs,--far down in those deep valleys there are large aspen trees in gorgeous yellow. With the buttes behind them at sunset as in this second picture, it is gorgeous.

 Below is the Colorado River carving Red Canyon along Route 128; that road runs along the river for 25 fabulously scenic miles:

 Any road you travel has immense, towering red sandstone formations, some topped with castles or towers.

 This is the  Fisher towers as the Sun is going down. I took a lot of shots of free-standing towers here that are magnificently scenic.

All in all, a helluva first day when I was expecting a disaster.

Forecast for tomorrow is rain. Guardian angels, get to work!!

Shooting Championships Day 3--Sometimes Cowboys Cry...

The third day of the USPSA shooting championsips allowed me to watch a solid squad take on a state in which knocking down a steel Pepper Popper started a pair of targets swinging.

By the way, you can watch full-screen by clicking the little symbol below the lower right-hand corner of the video image.

This is still a sport that is much more fun to do than to watch...

Another day at the United States Practical Shooting Association Championships

My family and friends know that I am a 77-year-old who never grew up and still itches to go out and do this kind of shooting.

The first course is a quick little exercise that tests your ability to make a plan and carry it out under pressure.

The second stage we'll watch has a bit longer distances and a couple of steel targets toward the end which can ruin your entire day if you take them too quickly.Note that this shooter definitely slows down to hit those two steel plates.

Finally, here's a little sprint course in which you can go down either side of the barricade. This shooter did it in the way most did. A smooth run.
 See how easy all this is?

Fast-shooting Fun from the USPSA National Championships

Last month the United States Practical Shooting Association Multi-gun national Championships were held here in Las Vegas (See down the page for the earlier post).. This month the various classes of the pistol nationals are being held here. I love it.
Since I avidly shot in competition for nearly 25 years, it is fun to see how the current crop of shooters is performing. I took a quick look at a course as it was being scored:  The only part of the target you should hit is the tan portion. Hitting any white or black part results in penalties!! The legal part of some of those targets looks awfully small!.

Here's a shooter tackling that course. A solid run, not taking many chances. Score maximum points, have a good time, don't incur any penalties.

There was also some fast but well-controlled shooting being done by the ladies. Make no mistake, they are fierce competitors and those who take the top places are superb shooters!!

What you have to do is analyze the course, make a plan on every move you must execute to win it--and then do precisely what you planned without you,  your gun or your ammo malfunctioning.  This particular competition has eighteen separate events (known as stages), and the winners must carry out their plans without errors consistently over four hot, dusty days!

Here, a shooter shows some fast execution!

 That course was intricate and intense, but short. This next  one is a more complex stage that has to be shot on the run, through windows and around corners, following a carefully-planned strategy: Note the shooter running to particular places so as to make the fewest number of starts and stops.

By the way, the ringing cell phone is mine, as some politician's fund-raiser pesters me on the weekend! The shooter has to carry out the course no matter what distractions arise.